Propelling device for aeroplanes



Sept. 20, 1927. LANDON PROPELLING DEVICE FOR AEROPLANES Filed July 15, 1926 Inventor, Elva? Landon) Atgorne/yj I .40 end parts of'thevanes 12 are curved in the direction of rotation of who v .5 said casing.

Patented Sept. 20, 192-7.

UNITED STATES {PATENT OFFICE.

ELVIE LANDON, Q1 WATEBLOO, IOWA. I

. raornnmne nnvrcn ron. annormnas.

Application filed my 15,1928. Serial no. 1223119. I 1

structures shown may be made within the SCtiPG of said claim. 7 p

11 said drawings, Fig.1 is a central horizontal longitudinal section of one of my propelling devices, with parts broken away. ig. 2'is a rear elevation of the propeller casing and of the adjustable air current re ulating means thereon.

he numeral 2 denotes a hollow cylindrical casing whose rear art is curvilinearly diminished at 3, provi ing an air piercing end to diminish frontal pressure. The flat forward wall of the casing 2 has a central aperture 4 traversed bythe rear part of a,

propeller rotary shaft 1 which may be ro- S0 tated by means of any suitable motor not shown. The rear end of this shaft within the casing is rotatabl mounted in a bearing sleeve 10 integral with a supportin crossbar 9 'whoseoposite ends are bolte to the j. opposite walls of the casing. Within the cylindrical part of the casing, fixed on said shaft 1, is mounted a hub 11 carryin radial vanes '12 set obliquely relatively to t e shaft to function as propeller vanes. The outer preferably shaft except that these parts are curved with the same obliquity'as' the stem parts of the vanes.

I The rear part 3 of the diminished casing is open and provided on opposite walls, that is, without and within, withannular bearing members 14 and 13 whose inner bearing 7 surfaces for-in a zonal spherical bearing sur-l face for aninner zonal bearing member 15,

' whose rear end. is fastened around the forward open end of a tubular air conduit 16,

so that theconduit is thus mounted for lim fited universal swinging adjustments upon centricallyqabout' the forwar the .or'ot er apparatus for which it is adaptable, the. operator may by use of the winding drums 21 and 32, operated either singly or The numeral 5 denotes an annular inwardly flanged bearing member fastened upon the ,forward wall of the c vsing 2 conaperture 4. Within this member 5 is fixe a cross plate 6 having oppositequadrate a crtures, and a damper plate 7 is mount vided with a handle 8, whereby the plate 7 rotatably or 'rockingly in said member 5 in advance of a the fixed plate 6, and of like shape and promay be rocked to vary the width of opening of the apertures in the plate 6, to thus govv cm the quantit of air passing through the casing 2 3 an conduit 16.

The conduit 16 maybe swung adjustingly by any appropriate means, the means shown being merely illustrative of one type therefor. Staples or loops 17 may be fixed on opposite parts, quadrately, of said conduit 16 to receive looped ends of cables, such as shown at 18 and 28 on opposite sides, and at 29 at points ninety degrees apart from the first-mentioned cables. These cables are carriod over sheaves 19 rotatably mounted upon the. casing 2 near its junction with "its diminished part 3, thence being carried over tively to be end connected to opposite vparts of the annular grooves of the winding-drums 21 and 32 respectivel Each winding drum 'has an operatin ra ial handle 22, and each has a connecte ratchet-wheel as at 24 and 33, the same being rotatable; on short fixed shafts as at 23 rojectin 'at/difierent angles relative to eacli other rom a support 35. Each ratchet-wheel has a pawl as at 25 and 34, pivoted on said support 35 and havin an arm 26-with a spring/connection 27 wit said support, tending to keep each pawl in engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheel, the teeth. being symmetrically anticlinal, so that the pawl end may slip either other sheaves such as 20, or 3(l31 respecway releasably over-the teeth when the wheel is rotated in either direction. y

In the operating of the device as part of ropelling mechanism of an aeroplane jointly, according to'the shift of direction of the. conduit 16 to be obtained, rock either or both in a way to, by means of the cables connected to the conduit, swin the conduit to any an 1e relative to the axis of the propeller, wit in thelimits provided for it.

This adjustment of the conduit is to direct it in the direction which is to be given the aeroplane, so that the ejected air Wlll effect jet, propulsion in action as the aeroplane its manipulated for changes of direction, as the shift in the conduit should be one which is accommodated to the direction to be taken by the aeroplane.

The means for shifting the conduit may be other than those shown, and the relative dimensions of the conduit and the casing, as of the propeller vanes, may be varied as I may benecessary for use on different species to be used be actuated by e of aeroplanes, in which eitherspeed. of move ment, or weight carryingcapacity are the determiningfactors-q 1 The air governing damper device 67 is I or regu ating the amount of air current through the casingv under varying conditions of use, and the damperpart 7 may means of other appliances than the hand 8 if desired. The said propelling device may be'positioned upon the aeroplane accordin tothe necessities arising from differences Ot CODStIHCtIOII thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In a device of the character described, a cylindrical hollow casing having a closed rear head with a central delivery port containing spaced segmental closure plat-es, rotatable segmental damper plates mounted on the casing to variably close the interspaces of the first-mentioned closure plates, the forward part of the casing being gradually diminished and terminating forwardly in a hollow spherically segmental joint member, a tube projecting forwardly from and having a rear spherically segmental joint member mounted in the first-mentioned joint member, pawl-controlled ratchet-wheel carflexible connections ELVIE LANDON. 

